James K. Bass, an experienced senior executive with more than 25 years of leadership roles in engineering and manufacturing, is the President and CEO of Piper Aircraft, Inc. Bass, 48, was appointed September 12, 2005, by the Piper Aircraft Board of Directors.
Since joining Piper, Bass has orchestrated a comprehensive rebuilding effort that has seen the company grow significantly in production and revenues. His top priorities include dedicating research and development efforts to new technologies, building stronger skill sets within the company and strengthening Piper’s depth of field with significant additions to the company’s executive, management and employee teams.
“Our agenda is to grow, develop and expand Piper in such a way that is best for our customers, our employees and our business,” says Bass. “Piper has a rich heritage and reputation for developing and building products and features our customers want and need, and we will continue in that tradition by improving and strengthening our customer and business relationships, working closely with our dealers and continuing to be the premier provider of aircraft in general aviation. The Piper Team is known for its dedication and commitment and is poised and eager to meet the challenges ahead.”
Prior to joining Piper, Bass was President and CEO of Suntron Corporation, a $500 million public corporation based in Phoenix, Ariz., where he led a comprehensive financial turnaround that brought the company back to profitability. He also served as a Senior Vice President with the Sony Corporation, where he was Chief Operating Officer in charge of manufacturing, engineering, procurement and all support functions for three consumer electronics businesses with total revenues exceeding $1.2 billion.
Prior to joining Sony, Bass held several senior level management positions with